“That’s part of the mystery, youknow,” he said. His eyes still hadn’t moved from where they were fixed, but itfelt like he was talking directly to her now. “They’re always perfect. Evenwhen they’re not perfect. Isn’t that something?”
“It’s something, all right,”Shacora muttered. She lifted her voice again, keeping it light and friendly,like how you would talk to a child. He wasn’t going to listen to warnings, shecould sense that. She needed to coax him out. “Sir, why don’t you come backwith me to the ranger station? Okay?”
The man didn’t say anything, buthe did finally move. His head swung slowly around until he was looking right ather, slow and still, his expression blank. But even as she watched, she feltsomething coming over his face. Not something that she could identify. Not oneclear emotion. But even so, it made a shiver go through her. This guy, whateverhe was on, it was something serious. She wondered if she was out of her depth.
“That’s right,” she said,encouragingly, thinking that maybe she was finally getting through to him insome way. “Come along with me. We’ll get you back to the station now. Let’s go.”
She thought he was going to turnto come with her. His body tensed like he was going to move the way he hadbefore, slowly around, coming with her. Maybe it would take a while, but shethought she could get him in the car and drop him off outside the gates andmaybe call the police to come deal with him. As long as she could make himsomeone else’s problem as soon as possible, she could get back to her easy,boring job. Had she called it boring? She shouldn’t have complained. This waswhat you got. The crazies.
But he wasn’t turning to followher. Shacora blinked and he was turning, all right, but rapidly, quicker thanshe had thought he could, like he released all his pent-up energy at once, barrelingtoward her. There was something in his hand. It happened so fast that shecouldn’t make it out, only that it was dark and long and clasped in his handtightly. And that thing, whatever it was, smashed against the side ofher head, so heavy and sudden that she only had the time to draw in a singlebreath before she realized she was breathing in dry, dead leaves, and somethingwasn’t right, and there was a desperate cold spreading through her, and Shacorashivered just once before blinking out.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Zoe didn’t mind the silence somuch. Silence was fine by her. Fewer words meant fewer distractions.
But it was the tension that wasirritating. The way the rookie took corners and changed lanes with anaggressive anger, screaming to a stop at red lights and only just barely makingit because he was driving far too fast. He was fuming, she could tell thatmuch. This wasn’t his usual careless, fast driving. There was another layer toit: the sharp, choppy movements of his hands and feet, the way his head jerkedaround quicker and at more extreme angles. The numbers showed her what waswrong, even when she only saw them from her peripheral vision, refusing to turnto look at him.
She was regretting taking thiscase on at all. Flynn had been far from apologetic about his interrogationtechnique, and he didn’t look set to cool down any time soon. Zoe almost beganto wish for some music or a radio station to dispel the hostility in the air.Almost. But not enough to want to risk inviting the numbers crowding into herhead.
She reached into her pocketinstead and took one of Dr. Monk’s pills. She swallowed it down, waiting for itto take hold. At least then she might be able to ignore Flynn moresuccessfully. She closed her eyes and tried to count her in-breaths to ten, butbefore she even got to three, she found she was counting the revolutions of thetires against the asphalt (calculated by a particular noise that a slightlybalder spot on the front left made every time it touched the road) instead andgave up.
No, she shouldn’t have taken thiscase. She shouldn’t have been tempted to read the file, and even after doingthat, she shouldn’t have given in when SAIC Maitland insisted on her taking apartner. Partner. Zoe spat on the word. It meant nothing. Especially not withthis excuse for an agent, who was so green he might as well have been grass. Hewasn’t gifted like Shelley had been. He had nothing to offer Zoe. No skillsthat would solve the case quicker. She would have been better on her own.
Zoe opened her eyes again andlooked out the window, staring dully out, letting the dimensions of structuresflash in front of her eyes as she kept mental track of the street number. Shecounted mentally how far they were from the station, from the point where shecould get out of the car and be away from him. The residential buildings fellaway and opened up to the gaping mouth of a larger complex. Raising her eyesjust in time to catch the sign outside, Zoe realized it was a universitycampus.
A university campus…
“Wait,” she said, the word firingout of her with the explosive suddenness of a bullet. “Stop!”
“What?” Flynn said, automaticallyputting his foot on the brake while glancing in the rearview mirror. They werein light traffic, but Zoe realized immediately he couldn’t stop immediately forfear of causing an accident. “Why?”
“Just go around the block,” Zoesaid. “We have to go back. I just thought of something.”
Flynn breathed out through hisnose, a frustrated sound, as he took the next turn and began heading back in asquare pattern. “You could at least tell me what.”
“You could at least trust yoursenior agent,” Zoe shot back. She was still annoyed at him, and didn’t feellike explaining. Maybe it would have smoothed over their relationship a littleif she’d given in and explained. On the other hand, maybe he would have refusedto go investigate her “silly pi theory” any further. She couldn’t risk thesecond.
“Here,” Zoe said, sitting uprightin her seat, pointing eagerly as they drove toward the campus again. “Turnhere.”
“A campus?” Flynn frowned. “Whatare we
